Concentrate food composition in the form of a gel

Abstract

The present invention relates to a concentrate food composition comprising water, salt and pectin for preparing a bouillon, a soup, a sauce, a gravy or a seasoned dish. The aim of the present invention is to provide a concentrate food composition in the form of a gel at room temperature and which is shape-stable at high-salt levels, while the increase in viscosity upon cooling of the diluted concentrate food composition is very low. It has been found that a concentrate food composition in the form of a stable gel can be obtained when the concentrate comprises water, sodium salt comminuted plant material, pectin and calcium salt, wherein part of said pectin is bound to said comminuted plant material, and part of said pectin is not bound to said comminuted plant material (free pectin) and said free pectin and said bound pectin are present in a ratio of from 0.2 to 200.

Description

[0001]The present invention relates to a concentrate food composition comprising water, salt and pectin. It further relates to a process to prepare the same. It further relates to the use of said composition for preparing a bouillon, a soup, a sauce, a gravy or a seasoned dish.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002]High-salt concentrated food compositions which after dilution in water or a dish result in a bouillon, a soup, a sauce or a gravy or a seasoned dish have been described. This class of products is known to the consumer as well as to the skilled person for many decades. They are known for example in the form of bouillon cubes, soup cubes or seasoning cubes. Concentrate products can be dry (e.g. dehydrated), liquid, or paste-like products which, after the addition to water according to the directions for use, yield ready to eat preparations.[0003]Recently, savoury concentrate food compositions became available which are in the form of a self-sustaining semi-solid gel. Compared to ...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0176]A high salt savoury food concentrate could be obtained in the form of semi-solid gel. The concentrate food composition could be prepared starting from fresh plant material, without the need for additional gelling agents, providing a perception of naturalness. The concentrate food composition did not show any significant undesirable increase in viscosity after dilution in water and subsequent cooling down. The appearance in the application (i.e. in use) therefore was strongly improved compared to conventional concentrate food compositions. The concentrate food composition according to the invention showed an easy and natural spoonability, for example when compared to the concentrate food compositions currently available, wherein for example xanthan and locust bean or xanthan and iota-carrageenan is used as a gelling agent. When used, it dispersed with an acceptable speed, comparable with or even faster than a product on the market based on for example, xanthan gum and locust bean gum or xanthan and iota-carrageenan. Upon storage, hardly any syneresis or phase separation of the gel was observed, rendering the product suitable for transport and storage.

[0177]The present invention will now be exemplified by the following, non-limiting examples:

Problems solved by technology

Most gelling agents that can form a semi-solid gel in food products which are ready to eat (low salt levels) appeared to be not compatible with very high-salt levels, such as common in savoury concentrate food compositions.

In a high salt environment they might lose their texturing ability or often do not form a gel at all, or show significant disadvantages which make production of savoury high-salt gels at industrial scale far from attractive, if not impossible.

Despite this development of gelled concentrate food compositions which could be produced with the required high-salt level, it was experienced that the discovered gelling agents which are compatible with such high-salt levels are sometimes not recognised as sufficiently natural by the consumer and result in a “non-clean label” declaration on the packaging, and show other disadvantages as well.

A disadvantage that was observed with many, if not all, of the gelled concentrate food compositions as currently available, is the phenomenon that when the concentrate composition is diluted, for example to make a bouillon or a soup, this diluted composition shows an undesired considerable increase in viscosity (or even gels) when it stands for a while and gradually cools down to temperatures such as 50 or 40° C., or lower.

In a seasoned dish that has cooled down an undesired stickiness or lumping in the dish may be observed.

This clearly can give a non-desired appearance that is sometimes interpreted as “artificial” by a consumer, as it does not sufficiently reflect the behaviour of a homemade bouillon, soup or meal etc.

A further problem observed with available concentrate food compositions in the form of a gel is that it is cumbersome to spoon out part of the gel from its packaging, as it may be too elastic.

Images